As a little girl growing up in the midst of inner-city Seattle I had a thorough education in the history of the civil rights movement. I don't know how that education would differ or compare to that which I may have received growing up elsewhere. I was only 7 years old when I learned who Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was, what he lived and gave his life for, and that he had left his small children to grow up with out their father. It has been many years since I could think of him without deep emotion - maybe since I first learned who he was. Since that time he has been one of my greatest heroes. A voice reaching through time - calling upon all who have ears to hear - to right the wrongs of those who came before us and to stay the hands of those who would continue their oppressive and evil ways.
I have not always lifted my voice, reached out my hand, walked forward, or lead out in such a way as to reflect this deep affinity. But my heart is full today. In November when our nation elected the first African American President my heart was full. I cried tears of joy. Barack Obama doesn't begin to represent all that I believe in. He does represent a powerful movement toward the fulfilling of Dr. King's Dream...."So I say to you, my friends, that even though we must face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I believe that President Obama brings us new hope and will lead us into a new day - even as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. brought this nation hope and led us to this day. This is my tribute to both men - the hero of my childhood and a new hero for me - and maybe for my children.
I Dream
This night I ponder
Eyes and heart open
Anxious - but hopeful
As I wander
through a Dream
of one Man
Gone these many years
A Dream still alive
Today in the hearts
of a Nation.
Today, tomorrow
We move forward
No longer in a dream
- but in each waking moment
Here and now.
Hope.
A Dream
Fulfilled -
A Man's,
A Nation's.
A new Dream
Uniting hearts
which Hope again.
